Improvement in towing- canal-boats



towing boats or vessels on canals and www@ CHARLES T. HARVEY, OF

Letters Patent No.A 86,395,

TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK.

dated .February 2,- 1869; antedated Juanan/ 20, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOWING CANAL-BOATS.

*w* The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making ofthesame.

To all 'whom it may conce/m Be it known that I, CHARLES T. HAnvn'y, oflIarrytown, in the county of Westchester, in the State of New York, haveinvented a new and improved System of Towing Canal-Boats or othervessels; land I do hereby` declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in theart to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, forming part ofthis specification, in which drawing- Figure lisa longitudinal section of a canal, to which myinvention is applied.

Figure 2 is a cross-section.

Figure 3 is a plan.

- This invention relates to the moving of boats on canals, or otherwater-courses, by means of a peculiarl application of parts of theapparatus which I have heretofore patented in connection with thepropelling of cars and other bodies, as set forth in Letters Patentnumbered 56,411, 63,887, 63,888, and 66,330.

In my present invention I show a'node of applying propelling-ropes orcables to the purpose of moving or g water-conrses- The letter Adesignates a short section of a canal, along one of whose banks extendsa section of the propelling-apparatus.

The letter B designates a cable-guide, in whose upper and lower sidesare slots, or channels, in which an endless rope or cable is moved by astationary engine or other motor, at one end of the cable-guide, theslots or channels and the cable being so arranged that the ca ble goesforward in one slot or channel, and returns in the other to the place ofbeginning, where is placed the driving-drum or propelling-shaft, bywhich motion. is imparted.l

The letter() designates the driving-drum in this eX ample.

I make the cable-guides of proper length,.according to thi-:weight orsize of the cable employed, and according to the amount of work to bedone by it, and I support them upon posts or columns, in such a man nerthat their slots, or channels, will not be interfered with by the postsor columns, and so that their respective cables and the cable-heads orspurs can move freely along.

I do not, in this application, lay any claim to the form ofthecable-guides, Iy n' to the brin ofthe cableheads or spurs, nor to theform or construction ofthe driving-drum. N or do I confine myself, inthese particulars, to any particular form or construction, but use anyof the rnodiiications which have been patented or shown by me in theirapplication to elevated and other railroads.

The cable-heads or spurs D are placed-at frequent intervals upon thecable E, and they are so made and arranged, with reference to thecable-guide, that they cannot leave the slots or channels thereof, aswill be clearly understood by referring to the drawing, and

particularly to sectional figs. 1 and 2, where the heads or spurs areshown to b'e mounted on running gear, or wheels, which roll against andupon the bottoms of the slots or channels of the cable-guide.

The lower or under slot or channel in the said guide is the same as theupperonc, but in a reversed position, so that the bent-over edges oftheupper slot, or channel, which in that slot come over the wheels of thecable-heads, or spurs, and confine them in their proper places in theunder slot or channel,form the bottom or track for said wheels.`

The cable-heads, or spurs, lateral anti-friction wheels, so as to enablethem to move in the slots or channels of the guide with ease,notwithstanding the strain of the work in towing draws them against thesides Vof the slots.

Ilie method of towing or moving boats by this apparatus is shown-in thedrawing, the oable-heads, or spurs, while travelling in the upper slot,serving to tow can also be provided with spurs, in their return course,towing other boats in the opposite direction, the connection ofthe boatswith the cable being by means of tow-lines, which have on their freeends rings, hooks, or other fastenings, that hook upon or clasp thecable-heads, or spurs, and which are detached or unhooked automaticallyat the end both of the direct and return courses, by the elevation or`enlargement of the sides of the cableguides at its end, as shown in g.1, at F F, whereby the rings or fastenings of the tow-dine are raisedout of connection with the cable-heads, or spurs, and in that mannerdetached from the cable of one section, in readiness to be attached byan attendant or boat-hand, or by automatic means, to the cable of thenext section, without delay or much'loss of headway.

v The line of a canal or water-course is provided with cables andcable-guides, from one end of the canal or water-course to the other,such cables and cable-guides being placedv in close successionthroughout the whole line, so as to form a continuous or consecutiveseries of cables and cable-guides, whereby a boat can be towed, by myinvention, from either end of the canal to the other withoutinterruption.

My invention enables boats that are being towed in opposite directions,to pass each other, without danger of collision or entanglement of theirtow-lines, the boats whose tow-lines go to the cable-heads or spurs thatare moving in the Yupper slot or channel taking the outer', orleerme-bank, and being provided with hitching-posts G, which areelevated above their decks, so that' their tow-lines will pass freelyabove the inside boat.

The driving-drums C of the several cables are turned by stationaryengines or oth er suitable motors, and such drums may be ofthe kinddescribed in my Letters Pat ent, No. 63,888, or of any other kindpreferred.

One of the advantages of my. invention, over the present method oftowing boats by means of animals boats in one direction, andthe samecable-heads, or

travellingv on a towing-path is, that a higher rate of speed can beobtained at a reduced cost, and that boats will be towed in a regularsuccession, and in due `order,without advantageone over theother.

The towing-'pa hs can, however, be preserved for use in special cases,and the posts or columns that sustain the cable-guides lcan be placedalong the outer edge of the banks for that purpose, and their height besuch as to cause the tow-lines that are attached to the cableheads toclear any' animals which may he towing on the banks.

do not confine myself to the form here shown for` constructing thecable-guides, because the guide can be varied to suit the forni andconstruction of the cableheads,or spurs, as suggested inmy severalpatents relatng to the propulsion of cars upon railroads.

